One of the things that shocked us the most about the latest powerful exhibition at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights is that everyone featured just wanted to help and to better our country.
These were highly skilled government employees –– many were diplomats who served the Canada during trying times like the Cold War, or RCMP officers looking to uphold the law, and members of our military that were willingly putting their lives in danger for international freedoms –– and yet, the Canadian government took their livelihood from them, all because of sexual orientation.
That fact left such a lasting impression.
Then of course, there’s the added shock of learning just how recent the history of the LGBT Purge was, as this all took place from the 1950s to early 1990s.
Exhibition opens with a snapshot of 2SLGBTQI+ discrimination
Located on the ground floor of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, just to the left of the main entrance, Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge begins by laying out how the projection and enforcement of heteronormative culture is nothing new in Canada.
The first few panels provide a snapshot of queer Indigenous history. This section might be a real eye opener for many visitors, as it defines and reveals how Two-Spirit persons were integral throughout Turtle Island. You’ll learn about individuals like Sitting in the Water Grizzly, whose uniqueness and strength saw them become a mediator, prophet and warrior.
From there, the exhibition moves into Canadian military history from a cultural perspective, citing how many Canadian soldiers during WWI were able to broaden their romantic and sexual horizons in Europe. Of course, many of these soldiers, who were found to have committed homosexual acts, were expelled from service.
There’s also a panel on “The Crime of Being Queer” that details cases in New France and British North America, particularly when it came to sexual contact between males. It’s these three historic examples that set the tone for this powerful exhibition.
Elements of the exhibition
Once you’re through this historic section, Love in a Dangerous Time’s floor plan opens, and your eye is drawn to the many colourful panels, videos and personal stories coupled with artifacts that really hit home.
A bar with a mirrored backdrop represents one of the few Ottawa hangouts where 2SLGBTQI+ people tried to let down their guard and be themselves. Even that space was surveilled by the RCMP. There are individual panels on diplomats, Mounties, and members of the Canadian Armed Forces who were found out to be queer, and thus quickly removed from their jobs. Be sure to read each one, as one striking feature of the exhibition is the use of redacted and blacked out text, mirroring the official correspondences from government officials that was used to instigate all these firings.
One of the most powerful elements is the interrogation room (In a Dark Place), which sits right in the middle of the exhibition. Within, you could imagine the shock that must have come from so many of these civil servants as their own government sought to expose and thereby remove them from their jobs. This is coupled with panels detailing how all branches of the federal government presented surveys to their employees in hopes to weed out 2SLGBTQI+ peoples. And yes, these “surveys” continued right into the 90s.
There's also a touch of, dare we say humour, by way of a film installation by Winnipeg-based artists Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan. The collaborators created The Fruit Machine: A Space Opera specifically for the exhibition. Their five-minute piece — which takes inspiration from the documentary film The Fruit Machine by Sarah Fodey — recreates the cultural context of the 1950s and 1960s, when television, advertising and other pop culture forms presented heterosexuality and gender binary as keys to a normal, good life.
The much more serious Fodey documentary tells the story of a series of absurd "fruit machine" tests that many were put through as part of the LGBT witch-hunt of public servants and military personnel in Canada, and its effects on the people whose lives and careers were disrupted or destroyed by it.
Before you exit, you’re met with details of the court cases that were finalized from 2018 to 2020 that finally saw a settlement of $145 million for victims of the LGBT Purge. Altogether, there were 719 claimants! You’ll also learn of the formal apology that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered in 2019.
The final room also contains the short film The Regulation of Desire (2025) by local filmmaker Noam Gonick. Projected onto two surfaces, the second of which employs netting to cast a shadow, the film features members of Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet performing against a backdrop of the Cold War and interrogation rooms.
Like every exhibition that has been curated at The Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge is a must-see. You also can’t help but note all the many current parallels, specifically in America where the current president and his defence secretary are attempting to ban and purge trans people from the US military.
There’s always a reason to visit the CMHR
When visiting Winnipeg, this world-class museum should always be on your list.
Its ever-climbing galleries are sure to inspire awe, while the interactive exhibits are equally stirring, heart-breaking, uplifting and thought-provoking.
There’s something for all ages too, from media literacy presentations for older kids, to interactive displays that little kids will enjoy. Plus, on a clear day the Israel Asper Tower of Hope, located at the top of the museum, offers fantastic views of the city and surrounding landscape after you’ve finished exploring.
The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is located at 85 Israel Asper Way, and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Love in a Dangerous Time: Canada’s LGBT Purge is on now until early 2026.
